Rob Lawless — The Untapped Value of Human Connection

In November of 2015, Rob Lawless began a journey to spend 1 hour with 10,000 strangers to learn about their lives with no agenda. Leaving behind his careers in finance and tech sales, Rob took a huge risk and made the bet that creating human connection is currently a more important foundation for his future than building his savings account.

Since the birth of this project, ‘Rob’s 10K Friends’, he has attracted a massive following and national attention — meeting everyone from street artists, to people experiencing homelessness, to CEOs, to former Mayors, to DJs, to students, and millionaires. After each meeting, he posts a photo on his Instagram and Facebook page along with a short story on what he's learned about each person. Rob is currently seventeen percent of the way to 10,000, which is no arbitrary figure.

In this conversation, Branden and Rob talk about this journey to meet 10,000 people that has revealed the human epidemic of loneliness and our deep need for connection.

The only thing you have to do to capture the ultimate value of human connection is by opening up your mouth and saying hello to the person next to you. But we live in an environment where that is not the normal anymore.